Democratic Forces For The Liberation of Rwanda

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda is the primary remnant Rwandan Hutu Power rebel group in the east of the of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is often referred to as simply the FDLR after its original French name: the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda. It has been involved in fighting from its formation on 30 September 2000 throughout the last phase of the Second Congo War and the fighting which has continued since then. It is composed almost entirely of ethnic Hutus opposed to Tutsi rule and influence in the region. The FDLR was formed after negotiations between the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda and the remnant Hutu military command agreed that the ALiR be dissolved. Paul Rwarakabije was appointed commander in chief of the entire force, but ALiR had to accept the political leadership of the FDLR.

As of December 2009, Major General Sylvestre Mudacumura was the FDLR’s overall military commander. He was the former deputy commander of the FAR Presidential Guard in Rwanda in 1994.

The FDLR made a partial separation between its military and civilian wings in September 2003 when a formal armed branch, the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FOCA), was created.

"The FDLR continues to be dominated by leaders like Sylvestre Mudacumura, who personally have either been incriminated in the Rwandan genocide and/or lead an internationally recognised terrorist organisation. For leaders such as these, there would not be much of a future if the armed struggle was to end. They cannot return to Rwanda without being held to account for their actions in courts, nor could they easily be accepted by a third country. The continuation of the armed struggle is thus their best prospect for a life in relative freedom. Given the current military balance, their only alternative to spending the remainder of their life in the bush is to accumulate enough money to assume a new identity, flee to a third country, and establish a new life there.

Therefore, for the leadership of the FDLR, the movement is both a structure that protects them from a life in prison and a vehicle that allows them to acquire enough wealth to purchase a new identity, home and retirement allowance. For them, it is of utmost importance that the rank and file combatants of the FDLR do not find out about this hidden agenda. Consequently, the FDLR leadership invests a significant amount of effort in propaganda, and continues to develop plans for military operations to overthrow the Rwandan Government. The leadership, however, knows that these plans are unlikely to succeed in the current environment, and they recognise that the Rwandan Government is unlikely to weaken in the near future."

According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, the FDLR is believed to be responsible for about a dozen terrorist attacks committed in 2009. These acts of terrorism have killed hundreds of civilians in Eastern Congo.